The tech giant said 40 successful businesses would win $100,000 in credits for Amazon Web Services (AWS) alongside coaching and mentorship from industry leaders and access to venture capital firms.
Applications for the 10-week course, which is also open to Japanese and APAC firms, will close on 5 September, with the program beginning later that month.
Amazon hopes its cloud computing arm will give it the edge over rival SpaceX as it moves forward to expand its LEO satellite program, Project Kuiper, and continue blasting off its own rockets.
AWS can provide businesses with tools such as AI and machine learning to better analyse data collected from satellites.
“The 10-week accelerator will provide up to 40 selected startups with dedicated business resources, expertise, and guidance around technology and business capabilities, to help them leverage AWS to build, grow, and scale their missions,” said Amazon.
“The accelerator is open to space-sector startups at all stages that are based in Australia, New Zealand, India, or Japan. Participants can leverage the program to build their technology platforms, scale their operations, and pursue investment opportunities.”
The program is significantly being run in collaboration with organisations including iLAuNCH and the Australian Space Agency. In particular, it’s looking to aid innovations focused on Earth observation and remote sensing, manufacturing, launch and operations for space infrastructure and drone technology.
“This accelerator builds upon the successful AWS Space Accelerator: India in 2024, which supported 24 space tech startups,” said Amazon.
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“Through the 2024 program, these companies enhanced their solutions across multiple domains, including spacecraft propulsion, orbital and launch vehicles, satellite imagery, geospatial applications, and space tourism.
“Graduates achieved significant milestones: several secured customer contracts for their innovative geospatial solutions, while others secured investment and made notable advancements in propulsion technology and quantum key distribution.”
It comes after Amazon last month launched a second batch of 27 Project Kuiper satellites that will power its rival service to Starlink.
The blast-off on a ULA Atlas 5 rocket takes the total number of spacecraft in LEO to 54, not including two earlier prototypes launched in 2023.
Over the next few years, Kuiper and ULA teams will conduct six more Atlas V launches and 38 launches on ULA’s larger Vulcan Centaur rocket. Moving forward, an additional 30-plus launches are planned using launch providers Arianespace, Blue Origin and SpaceX to complete a final constellation of 3,200.
The lift-off came alongside speculation that the federal government will pick the service to replace NBN’s beleaguered geostationary satellites that provide internet to remote areas of Australia.
The GEO satellites launched in 2015 and will be decommissioned in 2032. However, customers have long complained that the service isn’t good enough to consistently handle video, and reports suggest thousands of customers have defected to Starlink.
Adam Thorn
Adam is a journalist who has worked for more than 40 prestigious media brands in the UK and Australia. Since 2005, his varied career has included stints as a reporter, copy editor, feature writer and editor for publications as diverse as Fleet Street newspaper The Sunday Times, fashion bible Jones, media and marketing website Mumbrella as well as lifestyle magazines such as GQ, Woman’s Weekly, Men’s Health and Loaded. He joined Momentum Media in early 2020 and currently writes for Australian Aviation and World of Aviation.
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